Most 2025 minority-related incidents were criminal, not communal: Bangladesh police report

ISLAMABAD: A yearlong review of police records in Bangladesh found that most incidents involving members of minority communities in 2025 were criminal rather than driven by communal hostility, according to a report released by the police headquarters and cited by state-run news outlet Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

The review, covering the period from January to December 2025, compiled 645 incidents nationwide involving minority individuals or properties, based on verified First Information Reports, General Diaries, charge sheets, and investigation updates, BSS reported.

“Bangladesh remains committed to confronting crime with transparency, accuracy, and resolve,” the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing said following the release of the report, according to BSS.

Of the total incidents, 71 were identified as having communal elements, while 574 were assessed as non-communal, the report said. 

Communal incidents largely involved vandalism or desecration of religious sites and idols, along with a small number of other offenses.

The non-communal cases were linked to a range of criminal activities unrelated to religion, including neighborhood disputes, land conflicts, political rivalries, theft, sexual violence, prior personal enmity, and unnatural deaths, the report said.

The distinction is significant, the press wing said, as accurate classification helps prevent misinformation and supports more effective law-enforcement responses. While all crimes are serious and require accountability, the data shows that most incidents involving minority victims were not motivated by communal hostility, BSS reported.

The report also placed the findings within the broader law-and-order context of Bangladesh, noting that an average of about 3,000 to 3,500 people lose their lives to violent crime nationwide each year. Violent crime affects all communities across religious, ethnic, and geographic lines, it said.

The press wing said available indicators show gradual improvement in law and order, citing enhanced policing, better intelligence coordination, faster response times, and increased accountability.

Bangladesh is home to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and people of other beliefs, all of whom are citizens with equal rights, the press wing said. Ensuring safety and justice for every community is both a constitutional and moral obligation, it added.

The report was presented “in the spirit of transparency and accountability” and aimed to provide a factual, evidence-based picture of crime trends affecting minority communities, BSS reported.